Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Thursday, following mixed cues overnight from Wall Street. Investors are largely upbeat about a stimulus-fuelled global economic recovery after US President Joe Biden announced a multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure investment plan. Weakness in energy stocks is offset by support from technology stocks which mirrored the surge by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday.
The Australian stock market is modestly higher on Thursday, extending gains of the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 hovering around the 6,800 level, following mixed cues overnight from Wall Street. Weakness in financials and energy stocks were offset by strong gains in gold mining and technology stocks, which mirrored the surge by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
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April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.